History

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Gay-Lussac's Law from 1802. Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778-1850) was a French professor who, in 1802, published the law of expansion of gases by heat. He worked closely with other scientists to publish other significant conclusions about gases and other facets of chemistry. He improved various chemical tools, such as the thermometer and the barometer. Gay-Lussac was among those at the center of scientific investigation in France, and France was the world leader in the scientific disciplines at the time. Gay-Lussac also made discoveries in the reactivity of gases, specifically in the formation of water and carbon dioxide, among others. It is seen that Guy-Lussac's work directly influenced the research of Amedeo Avogadro in the formation of Avogadro's Law.

Gay-Lussac's Law directly influenced the work of Amedeo Avogadro in the formation of his law. Gay-Lussac's Law was relied upon heavily by Berzelius in the formation of his Theory of Volumes. Gay-Lussac's Law contributed to the determination of the molecular formulae of water, hydrogen chloride, and ammonia. Interestingly, Dalton rejected the validity of Gay-Lussac's Law, even though he readily applied its implications. Gay-Lussac's Law can also be applied to osmosis, which, in turn, allows the determination of molecular weights by osmotic pressure.

Concept Definition

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All collisions are totally elastic (particles always bounce off each other)

There are no intermolecular attractions (a particle can only change direction when it collides with another particle)

The molecule is infinitely small (particles will come all the way together before they collide)

What does this mean? An ideal gas is a collection of bouncy-balls.

Real World Application

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Bullets and cannons are based on these principles: gas super-heated by the burning of gun powder is trapped behind the bullet and expands until the bullet leaves the barrel.

Someone opening an oven may feel a quick flow of hot air; the air inside the oven is heated, therefore pressurized. The same is true when heating food in closed containers; often, a container will open to release the pressure. If it does not, opening the container will quickly release all the pent-up pressure, which can be very dangerous because the gases inside the hot container may be super-heated. This is why it is always best to open hot containers away from your body and face.

Vocabulary

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